Virgil van Dijk had fans laughing as he cleverly tricked Richarlison during Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham.
The two teams clashed on Thursday night, vying for a spot at Wembley to face Newcastle, who had previously knocked out Arsenal.
Liverpool entered the match trailing 1-0 after Lucas Bergvall’s first-leg goal, but second-half strikes from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah turned the tie around. The Reds ultimately triumphed 4-1 on aggregate.
A notable matchup was van Dijk versus Richarlison, though it was cut short when the Spurs forward left injured late in the first half, with Mathys Tel making his debut as his replacement.
Early in the game, Richarlison went down after what seemed to be an accidental elbow from van Dijk. A lengthy VAR review followed, but no violent conduct was found.
Shortly after, van Dijk outsmarted Richarlison in an off-the-ball moment that quickly made the rounds on social media, leaving fans amused by the defender’s antics.
Virgil van Dijk left fans in stitches as he offered Richarlison a hand before pulling it away
The two enjoyed a battle for much of the first half, until Richarlison went off injured just before half-time
Richarlison alleged that the Liverpool captain had elbowed him in the opening minutes of tie
Fans reacted to the move online, with one writing that van Dijk should be given a medal
With Liverpool on the attack, Richarlison received the ball roughly 30 yards out from goal, trying to hold it up to earn some reprieve for his side.
Van Dijk pressed high, fouling his man, who hit the deck, with referee Craig Pawson giving a free kick to the visitors.
After van Dijk protested, the decision, naturally, stood, and the Dutch defender put his hand out to seemingly offer his hand to help the forward up.
When Richarlison looked as though he was going to take up the offer, putting his own hand out, van Dijk pulled his away, leaving his opponent to get up himself as van Dijk ran back into position.
Most fans saw the funny side of things of things on social media, with one writing on X: ‘Van Dijk’s absolutely done Richarlison,’ accompanied by three crying emojis.
Another posted: ‘This is the kind of pettiness I can relate to.’
A third, meanwhile, wrote: ‘Get that man a medal.’
On ITV’s coverage of the game, meanwhile, Ally McCoist said on commentary of the alleged elbow: ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt about having a quick look at it. He brings his arm up to try and shrug him off. There is an elbow there, I will tell you right now. Maybe just below the chin but they will have a look at it.
‘He might just get away with it because it’s below his chin. Richarlison feels hard done by, he uses his elbow. I’m not sure it makes any contact with the face and that’s what saves him.’